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As part of an international event, a four-day fast was held in central London between Hiroshima Day, 6 August, and Nagasaki Day, 9 August, to commemorate the 300,000 deaths caused by the atomic bombings of Japan in 1945.

At 8.15am on Hiroshima Day, three fasters set out banners on railings on the Thames side of the ministry of defence, where they camped throughout the fast. By 8 August, numbers had grown to seven, and they held a one-hour protest in front of Downing Street. They displayed a large ‘Hiroshima-Nagasaki Fast’ banner, leafleted passers-by, and blew peaceful bubbles before their ‘Blow Bubbles Not Bombs’ banner.

The fast ended with a ceremony for Nagasaki Day under the arches of Hungerford Bridge (sheltering from the pouring rain).

Three other British people, all in Devon, took part in the fast: Sheila in Barnstaple, Elizabeth Knight in Tavistock, and Shirley Law in the Plymouth area.

The Hiroshima-Nagasaki fast, initiated over 30 years ago in France and Germany, is held in several countries. This year, the fast took on particular significance with 122 countries agreeing a worldwide ban on nuclear weapons (see PN 2598–2599).